1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to networks. In particular, the invention relates to content delivery.
2. Description of Related Art
Information distribution over a network is becoming more and more popular. Users now can have access to thousands of network databases and content providers to retrieve news, articles, files, stock quotes, music files, video clips, etc. with ease. In many instances, content providers download data, news, and files to the subscribers automatically.
As demands for information access become higher and higher, it becomes economical to package the information contents for efficient delivery and discovery. However, the abundant supply of information has created several problems. The interests of users change over time, leading to difficulties in sorting out relevant information. The users' platforms or computer systems are constantly upgraded with new hardware and software, making presentation of information at the user's site less effective.
Existing packaging techniques merely bundle files into a .zip or .tar file. The content is usually compressed and integrated without any categorization or discrimination of information. These techniques provide no useful information about the content other than the names and sizes of the individual files.
Therefore, there is a need to have an efficient technique to package content for delivery.